News about the Great War is getting out.
Whanganui Regional Heritage Trust chairwoman Wendy Pettigrew has just released the first edition of The Great War Times.
It is four A4 pages of information about the region's centenary celebrations of World War I.
It is available on paper at Whanganui Regional Museum, the Sarjeant Gallery, Wanganui's information centre and other public places. Soon it will be able to be downloaded from whanganuiheritagetrust.org.nz
The first edition tells how to research World War I family connections, the stories of soldiers and their families and lists other war happenings.
Miss Pettigrew and the centenary committee are looking for people to help with tasks such as travelling with a roadshow to scan documents and the indexing of names. Some of the tasks can be done from home.
Miss Pettigrew, Libby Sharpe from the Whanganui Regional Museum, Clive Aim from the Wanganui District Council, Dave Large from the Returned Services Association and Huia Kirk, representing Maori interests, are on the committee.
The next edition of the Times is due in October, when the story of Wanganui soldier Billy Connell will feature at the museum.
The first war date of particular moment is August 4, the day that World War I was declared in Europe in 1914.